To gain this certification he passed
three proficiency exams that tested
his expertise in software used to
manage Data Center environments. The
exams covered software deployment,
configuration management,
clustering, storage management,
directory and authentication
services.

To hold this certification a
candidate must also currently be a
RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer).

Pfeiffer-Traum works in University
Information Technology's High
Performance Computing group (HPC)
which is primarily responsible for
managing the Research Computing
Center, a data center dedicated to
supporting the research needs of the
campus.

“The effort required to achieve this
certification demonstrates our
commitment to provide expert system
administration to our customers,”
said Keith Crabb, interim manager of
the HPC. “Each of our staff holds
certification in some area of the
services we manage. Alan is building
on that standard.”

“I think it is important for UIT to
continue to give high quality
support to the research needs of our
students and faculty. It is their
work that will directly advance the
current efforts to attain Tier One
status for UH. The academic goals of
the university need our support,"
Pfeiffer-Traum said.

Red Hat proficiency exams are
performance based exams. They are
designed to test the ability to
perform real-world tasks.

"In the exam you are presented with
requirements and resources, and you
are then expected, within a limited
amount of time, to produce certain
deliverables,” Pfeiffer-Traum
explained. "The score is based on
the result, not on the steps you
followed to get the result. In that
way it's more like real-life problem
solving."

Cisco Systems also uses
performance-based exams. Microsoft
is beginning to introduce them as
well.

“The experience of taking a
performance-based exam is much more
stimulating than a conventional
multiple choice exam, which is not
to say that it is fun," he said.